The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-05-05

political issue, he is opposed to the man
ufacture and sale of liquors which should
not have "the moral support of public
opinion or the protection of, the state"
How that result can be achieved through
the turbulent sea of agitation, without
making it public or party issue we leave
for him to explain. Whenever a cloud,
however small, comes between a mans
political vision and the broad sunlight of
reason, his Judgment becomes rapidly i'm
paired, and he would as soon legislate to
hang for witchcraft as to make it crime
to manufacture wine, aside from the i'm
practicability and unwise nature of the
policy. He seems to be oblivious to the
fact that all just government was insti-
tuted for the protection and preservation
of the social, industrial and commercial
interests of a people and not for their
\ destruction. The vested rights of legisla-
ton extend to the limit of regulating pro
duction and traffic. These powers do not
extend to the absorption of vast interests
to satisfy sentiment, but are exercised
for the promotion of the industries and
the general welfare of the people. Con-
situations are made to protect the rights
of the minority, and to limit the aggres-
sions of the majority. This is jefferson
ian democracy, and to cut off
and destroy one industry in
wolves the power to destroy them all.
1t now pleases the distinguished Texas
senator in congress to refer to the OPP
positions to his newly iedged notions of
government, as ''whisky shops, drunk
ards and criminals" Has he examined
the official reports of the prisons, asy-
lums and other like institutions of the
country, with view to gain truthful in
formation? If so, he will find that the
paupers, the insane, the criminals and the
imbeciles, who have become such through
or by Intoxicating liquors, are hardly ten
per cent. of the whole number. Would
prohibition abolish these institutions
Then, why charge all of the crimes and
misfortunes of a country upon single
source? AS we'll might the Offices of
cashiers, aldermen and others holding
and exercising responsible trusts, be
abolished because portion of them are
either in prison or escaped to Canada.
But Judge Reagan says he is prohibit
ZIONIST because claws which have for their
object the prevention and punishment of
crime, and the preservation of public
ulOIdlS dllO uCCOuCy, dIO uOU
in their character. To be logical in that
position, he should advocate the repeal
and prohibition of human nature.
| During the last year, according to the
official report of the bureau of statistics,
at Washington, the cost of spirits and
beer, in this country, amounted to $780,
100000, in round numbers, which includes
domestic manufactures and foreign i'm
portations. This shows an expenditure
OF. about $11.50 per capita, of the whole
population, or four times that amount to
the drinking population. What proper
ton of that vast amount, does Mr.. Rea-
gan suppose was dealt out in grogshops
and whisky mills to drunkards, criminals
and vagabonds? The aggregate incomes
from all sources, from these classes, is not
5 per cent. of $700,000,000. Then who are
they that purchased and paid for this vast
amount of liquors? They must have
been prosperous, energetic, wealth accu-
mulating people, who paid their taxes,
supported churches, schools, charitable in
situations, patrons of colleges, manufac-
turers, merchants, and possibly senators,
members of congress and railroad mag
mates. They, certainly, are not drunkards,
criminals and yagabonds.
Another and very important phase of
the subject is presented in these statistics.
The consumption of distilled liquors has
been increased from 100000 gallons In
1910, to 72,000,O00 in 1886, and yet this
amount per capita was 21s gallons forty
six years ago, and is now only 1 "a gallons.
Beer, however, has taken the place of in
toxicants in large measure. 1t
was hardly known in America
in 1910, and to-day 642,000,000 gallons
hardly supply the annual demand. This
is directly owing tol large infusions of the
German elements into this country. 1t
may be safely stated that intemperance
falls largely below the proportionate in
crease of the native population, and that
the increase in the consumption of liquors
is chiefly owing to the increase of foreign
population. There is not 10 per cent. of
native born Americans engaged in the
saloons in New York city, thus showing
that the business is now practically in the
hands of the foreign elements. But few
| figures are necessary to prove that the
growing intemperance in this country is
| imported and not indigenous. Let us see
how the account stands. To begin, our
population of foreign extraction
is sadly conspicuous in our criminal
records. This element constituted, in
1870, 20 per cent. of the population of
New England, and furnished rs per cent.
of the crime. The Howard society, of
London, reports that IA per cent. of the
Irish discharged convicts have come to
the United States. The annual rum bill
of this country for the last year was seven
hundred millions of dollars Who drinks
this rum? Native Americans? Some !!
Some drink a good deal. But let us see
the danger that comes to us from inebriety
among our foreign population. The
wholesale dealers in liquor are estimated
at Go per cent. foreign born, and the
brewers IS per cent. Let US take Phila-
delphia, that old Quaker city, the city of
brotherly love, that city that seems to
be par excellence the city of the
world, and here are the fig
ures; there are 8034 persons in the
rum traffic, and who are they? China
men, 9; Jews, 2; Italians, Is; Spaniards,
14O Welsh, 100; French, 2S5; Scotch,
497; English, 56S; Germans, 1,179; Irish,
3,O41; African, 265; American, POS. We
will mix the Africans with the Americans,
and the total would be 40 Americans,
and then there are persons of unknown
nationality in the rum traffic, 672; the
sum total being 1904. OF this number
1896 are females, but out of the 1896 all
are foreigners but one. There is one